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President Barack Obama saluted the nation's military at Arlington National Cemetery today, marking the national celebration of Veterans Day. Railroads, among the top employers of veterans, also hailed military men and women. CSX was scheduled to hold its fifth annual Military Appreciation Day for veterans who work for or are retired from the company.

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President Barack Obama told attendees at the Disabled American Veterans convention that the nation is making progress in providing better services to military veterans. He touted gains in the number of VA doctors, clinics and benefits available in the wake of the wait-time scandal, but he acknowledged more needs to be done to meet veterans' mental health needs.

Military retirement benefits must be secured for veterans, and the way to pay for that is by changing retirement for future military employees to adopt a 401(k) style plan and differentiate between those people in active service and others, write Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif. and Pete Hegseth, CEO of Concerned Veterans for America and served in Iraq and Afghanistan with the Army. The writers, both veterans, also urge an audit of the Pentagon and a reform of its acquisition process in order to generate savings.

Recommendations from U.S. President Barack Obama's commission on deficit reduction were met with criticism from Democrats and a cautious response from a White House spokesman. The panel's proposals include scaling back Social Security benefits, eliminating a deduction for mortgage interest and cutting military spending.

Recruiters need to make a greater effort to recruit military veterans, who often get high marks from employers for their skills and leadership abilities, John Zappe writes. Other advantages to hiring veterans are that the federal and state governments offer free or subsidized training, company tax credits and salary supplements.

A survey of Indiana's crumbling infrastructure suggests that billions of dollars in spending will be needed to prepare the state's railroads, airports, roads and treatment plants for future demand. The American Society of Civil Engineers' local chapter gave Indiana a D+ rating overall, putting the state slightly ahead of the national average. "While some improvements have been made over the past few years, much work remains," said report supervisor Katherine Graham.